Can Blockchain tech be the ultimate solution for my applications?
— By Jad El Kattar
Blockchain technology can offer important cybersecurity benefits, such as reducing cyberattacks, and it has recently created a lot of hype as a panacea for all the current challenges related to information security.
Blockchain can provide a strong and effective solution for securing networked ledgers. However, it does not guarantee the security of individual participants or eliminates the need to follow other cybersecurity best practices. Blockchain application depends on external data or other at-risk resources; thus, they cannot be a panacea. The blockchain implementation code and the environments in which the blockchain technology run must be checked for cyber vulnerabilities.
Blockchain technology provides stronger, transactional security than traditional, centralized computing services for secured networked transaction ledgers. For example, say I use distributed ledger technology (DLT), an intrinsic blockchain feature while creating my blockchain-based application. DLT increases cyber resiliency because it creates a situation where there is no single point of contact. In the DLT, an attack on one or a small number of participants does not affect other nodes. Thus, DLT helps maintain transparency and availability and continues the transactions. Another advantage of DLT is those endpoint vulnerabilities are addressed.
Blockchain technology depends on communication across a network of nodes. Disrupting node communications or disseminating or accepting false information to confirm fake transactions may compromise the network. Hence, communication across the network of nodes is very important if deploying blockchain for security reasons.
Solution architects should consider various risk management strategies when designing any blockchain application, as with any new technology. They should conduct thorough, upfront due diligence and negotiate contractual protections with other participants apart from implementing continuous monitoring for security incidents, as well as consider obtaining appropriate cyber insurance, if available.
Coding bugs often cause vulnerabilities that are continuously exploited by hackers in blockchain-based smart contract projects. Experienced developers and continuous project audits can help avoid these types of errors.
External data sources fall outside of a blockchain application’s network consensus validation mechanism. Blockchain networks and stakeholders in end-to-end transactions must take steps to monitor and ensure data reliability because these elements may be more susceptible to tampering or other malicious actions. Hackers may be able to compromise a project at this layer.
When discussing the use of blockchain technology for cybersecurity, it is important to understand that blockchain applications are like any other computer system. They can be vulnerable to software coding errors, which can introduce cyber risk.
Blockchain applications also run on general-purpose operating systems and platforms. These can be subject to known hardware and software vulnerabilities. Therefore, when deploying blockchain as a cybersecurity measure, organizations should treat these environments like their other critical business computing resources. They should follow generally accepted cybersecurity practices on blockchain applications. Identifying and managing known vulnerabilities is a core element of any reasonable cybersecurity program.
Users interact with the system in blockchain applications, which can often be a gateway for cyberattacks. The best example of this is cryptocurrency theft. These involve exploiting vulnerabilities in connected systems. Thus, end-user vulnerabilities, which enable attackers to infiltrate and compromise even the most secure private blockchains by impersonating authorized users, must be addressed.
Blockchain has intrinsic features of immutability, transparency, and DLT, which can help solve current cybersecurity issues. These blockchain features help manage the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. However, blockchain applications do not work in a silo; they use operating systems like other applications. They also work in a layering system with frontend application programming interfaces (APIs) and backend database systems. It is necessary to consider the vulnerabilities at all these layers while planning to deploy blockchain for security reasons.
Examples of Blockchain Cybersecurity:
Our money is transferred instantly via virtual bank accounts, our information sources are vast and thorough and even online orders are delivered the next day. The exceptional expediency of the digital age comes with a cost, however—namely, our privacy.
Our dozens of accounts spread throughout the web and are protected only by often weak passwords including bank accounts, health records, birthdays, social security numbers, and passport information.
The information age explosion of online data has brought with it lapses in security protocols that regularly expose our most sensitive information to malicious actors. Finding a reliable cybersecurity protocol, therefore, is more important than ever before.
Industries across the board are latching onto new technology that promises to improve online safety, with blockchain cybersecurity leading the way.
Blockchain’s inherently decentralized nature makes it the perfect technology for cybersecurity. The ledger technology has virtually endless uses in everything from medical and financial data sharing to anti-money laundering monitoring and encrypted messaging platforms.
Blockchain: A New Weapon in Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity crimes cost individuals and entities an estimated $500 billion every year.
Blockchain, a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), is focused on creating trust in an untrusting ecosystem, making it a potentially strong cybersecurity technology.
The ledger system is decentralized, but the information is transparently available to members of the specific blockchain. All members (or nodes) can record, pass along and view any transactional data that is encrypted onto their blockchain.
This process creates trust while also maintaining a high level of data integrity. In essence, the distributed nature of blockchain provides a “non-hackable” entrance or point of failure that detrimentally exposes entire datasets.
The cybersecurity industry can benefit from blockchain’s unique features, which create a virtually impenetrable wall between a hacker and your information.
The transparent ledger allows for password-free entry. Using biometrics, including retina scans and fingerprints, the ledger can create a single-source, uncrackable form of entry into any private data.
Decentralized storage ensures that each block contains only a small informational piece to a much larger puzzle, limiting hackable data to almost nothing.
Finally, the blockchain’s public record-keeping system gives each node an insight into any data manipulation, exposing potential cybercrime attempts in real time.
Blockchain in cybersecurity is widespread, and we’ve rounded up six industries that use it as a new weapon in the fight to protect our most sensitive information.
